A Chapel Hill, Tennessee, native, Hollingsworth encourages students wanting to become lifeguards to know it's more than a job. During the summer, a host of youth organizations use the university's aquatic facilities for leisure.

"I wanted a job that was important and wanted to have some responsibility … I knew that being a lifeguard is about as much responsibility as someone could get," he said.

Lifeguard positions are open to students and people outside of MTSU who are at least 16 years old and Red Cross-certified. Lifeguard training requires a 26-hour course with seven of those hours completed online.

"We want to provide jobs for our students on campus," said Pam Footit, MTSU aquatic coordinator. "During the summer, half of our guards go home, so we're hoping we can get a good community staff for the summer."

Motlow State Community College sophomore Kelsey Givens is one of MTSU's water safety instructors who teaches courses on safety to eager swimmers from ages 6 months to adults.

Instructors go through a 28-hour training offered at MTSU, with seven of those hours online.

"It's a great team and we're always willing to help out each other," Givens said. "We grow as a family … if someone is having a rough day or something you talk to them, encourage them to get back to work and try to urge them to remain positive for the rest of the day.”